Raymond Dalmau

Raymond Dalmau Pérez (born October 27, 1948) is a retired Puerto Rican professional basketball player and coach. He spent 20 seasons in the Baloncesto Superior Nacional (BSN) with the Piratas de Quebradillas. When he retired after the 1985 season, he held the league’s career records for points (11,592), rebounds (5,673), and assists (2,302).

Dalmau grew up in Harlem, New York, and first came to Puerto Rico in 1966 after being recruited by Raymond Burgos to play for the Piratas. At the time, players of Puerto Rican descent were considered imports. Despite being only 17, he made an immediate impact, finishing his rookie year second in the league in scoring with 18.4 points and 8.3 rebounds per game.

He led the BSN in scoring in 1968 and again in 1970, the same year he won his first championship with Quebradillas. Along with fellow Nuyoricans Neftalí Rivera and Néstor Cora, Dalmau helped the Piratas dominate the 1970s, reaching the BSN finals eight times and winning four titles, including three straight from 1977 to 1979. He was named league MVP three times.

In 1975, he was in talks to sign with the ABA’s Utah Stars but declined in order to keep his amateur status, which was required at the time for international play. In 1982, Quebradillas returned to the finals but lost to Mario Morales and the Guaynabo Mets in six games.

Dalmau played in three Summer Olympics. Known for his competitive spirit, he often held his own against taller, stronger opponents in international competition. At retirement, he was the BSN’s all-time leading scorer with over 11,000 points; he now ranks fifth in career scoring and fourth in career rebounds.

After retiring as a player in 1985, Dalmau became a coach in the BSN and also spent several years coaching in Venezuela. He found success with the Puerto Rico national team, winning gold at the 1989 Tournament of the Americas and finishing fourth at the 1990 FIBA World Championship.

He is married to Sandra Ortiz, and they have three sons—Christian, Richie, and Ricardo—and a daughter, Natalia. All three sons played in the BSN and for the Puerto Rico national team. In 1993, Dalmau was diagnosed with colon cancer and recovered. During a 2005 television appearance promoting colon cancer awareness, he joked that he could still jog daily from Santurce past the Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport in Isla Verde, a distance of more than five miles. On June 16, 2008, the Puerto Rico House of Representatives approved naming a coliseum in Quebradillas after him.

In the 1996 film Basquiat, Benicio del Toro paid homage to Dalmau by wearing a replica of his Puerto Rico national team uniform with his number 14. According to IMDB, del Toro’s character Benny has the last name Dalmau.